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States continue to confront Medicaid issues

CQ HealthBeat: "Hospitals and other providers are in line for Medicaid cuts later this year as state budget officers confront what many regard as 'their worst year yet,' Raymond Sheppach of the National Governors Association told reporters on Wednesday.

2 Dec 2010

Amgen to present data on Nplate studies for chronic ITP at ASH Annual Meeting

Amgen today announced that it will present data from several key Nplate (romiplostim) studies at the 52nd Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), Dec. 4-7, 2010, in Orlando, Fla.

2 Dec 2010

AstraZeneca announces FDA Advisory Committee meeting outcome for vandetanib NDA

AstraZeneca today announced the outcome of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee meeting to discuss the New Drug Application (NDA) for AstraZeneca's investigational drug, vandetanib, for the treatment of patients with unresectable (non-operable) locally advanced or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC).

2 Dec 2010

FDA approves Sagent's general anesthetic midazolam

Sagent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced U.S. FDA's approval of four presentations of midazolam injection, USP, a general anesthetic. Sagent expects to launch midazolam, which will be offered in latex-free vials, in 2011. According to 2010 IMS data, the annual U.S. market for injectable midazolam approximated $52 million.

2 Dec 2010

White House marks World AIDS Day

Commemorating World AIDS Day on Wednesday President Barack Obama called for continuing to fight HIV/AIDS domestically and abroad, Agence France-Presse reports (12/1).

2 Dec 2010

Spherix announces results of D-tagatose Phase 3 trial for Type 2 diabetes

Spherix Incorporated, an innovator in biotechnology for therapy in diabetes, metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis; and providers of technical and regulatory consulting services to food, supplement, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, today announced results from its first Phase 3 trial post hoc analysis in which the higher body mass index (BMI) of the U.S. population relative to the Indian population was a likely key contributor to the more positive effects of D-tagatose in the lowering of HbA1c levels in the U.S. population. Initial results were announced on October 7.

2 Dec 2010

FDA approves IDE application to initiate Tryton Side Branch Stent System for coronary artery disease

Tryton Medical, Inc., the leading developer of stents designed to definitively treat bifurcation lesions, today announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conditional approval for an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application to initiate the pivotal trial to evaluate the Tryton Side Branch Stent System for the treatment of coronary artery disease.

2 Dec 2010

FDA panel rejects expansion of drug label

The New York Times: A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on Tuesday rejected a bid to change the labels of two drugs to say they can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. "If the drugs were approved for that purpose, they would be only the second class of cancer-prevention drugs on the market."

2 Dec 2010

World's first handheld sensor for measuring optical density

BugLab LLC, the industry leader in non-invasive optical monitoring, has introduced the OD Scanner – the world's first handheld sensor for measuring optical density in shake flasks and other small vessels. This device removes the need to open shake flasks to measure optical density (OD). Instead, by directly measuring OD through the container wall, the labor, contamination risk, and inaccuracy associated with sampling and dilution are eliminated.

2 Dec 2010

Text from KHN: Fiscal commission's recommendations on health care spending

Kaiser Health News provides excerpts of the fiscal commission's opening remarks and recommendations related to health

2 Dec 2010

FDA approves Abiomed to begin MINI-AMI trial to evaluate Impella 2.5

Abiomed, Inc., a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, today announced it has received conditional approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin MINI-AMI, a prospective, randomized, controlled multi-site trial to assess the potential role of the Impella 2.5 in reducing infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

2 Dec 2010

New agreement gives CIGNA customers in-network access to medical center

CIGNA HealthCare and the University of Illinois Medical Center today announced a new agreement now in effect that gives CIGNA customers in-network access to the medical center and its 707 multi-specialty employed physicians.

2 Dec 2010

Today's Op-Eds: Preventing hospital errors; myths about the reform law; Medicare and the independent payment advisory board

Greenbay Press Gazette: No matter what happens with health care reform, the principles we've been discussing the past few months still hold true. Health care systems should continue to focus on quality and cost.

2 Dec 2010

Whooping cough on the move

The Sequoyah County has seen an increase of whooping cough cases this year while the state of Oklahoma has seen a decrease in cases according to health officials. Health officials in DuPage County also say there has been increase in whooping cough cases in recent weeks.

2 Dec 2010

Radiation hazard from diagnostic tests

In a nationwide safety effort launched this week in Chicago health care providers are pledging to stop the overuse of radiation on patients during medical examinations. The pledge at the Image Wisely campaign is signed so far by nearly 700 health care providers. It pledges to use the least radiation necessary on patients for a procedure. An expert panel at a radiology meeting Thursday said the campaign may lead to more review of protocols, more accreditation of imaging facilities and more widely shared standards on proper radiation doses.

2 Dec 2010

Early autism diagnostic test on the horizon

Soon scientists may have a test to diagnose autism spectrum disorders using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. As of now this dreaded developmental disorder is typically diagnosed through observations, along with educational and psychological testing.

2 Dec 2010

Weighty issues

A new study shows that the ideal body mass index or BMI is between 20 and 24.9. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in Kilograms by the square of height in meters. The study authors examined nearly 1.5 million adults and found that even being slightly overweight but not obese, are enough to raise the risk of an early death.

2 Dec 2010

Super GP clinic minus GP grabs attention

The Government defended the situation saying the $25 million Smart Road Super Clinic is not yet fully open. It has social workers and a dietitian already though. SA Health Minister John Hill said construction would not be finished until next year so only a small section of the clinic was open. He said, “We’re expecting all of the remaining services to be arranged so that when the building is opened some time next year, all of the services will be available.”

2 Dec 2010

ROCHE, Baylor Research Institute partner in human immunology research

Baylor Research Institute (BRI), the research arm of Baylor Health Care System, announced today that it has formed a three-year partnership with Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) to jointly develop programs emerging from the human immunology platforms developed at the Baylor Institute for Immunology Research (BIIR), a component of BRI.

2 Dec 2010

Hybrigenics receives EUR 800,000 payment from Oseo

Hybrigenics (ALHYG), a bio-pharmaceutical group with a focus on research and development of new cancer treatments and a fully-owned subsidiary specialized in protein interactions services, today announces it has received EUR 800,000 as the second and last payment of a EUR 1.4 million refundable grant contract originally signed with France’s innovation agency, Oseo Innovation, in 2008.

2 Dec 2010